The NFL Confronts Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault

Recently, the National Football League provided to the public a moving presentation on domestic violence and sexual assault that was given to all 32 clubs.

Using the voices and experience of coaches and players, the NFL addresses the seriousness of these issues, their long-reaching consequences, and the need to actively work to create safer communities for women and children. You’ll see many of D2L’s philosophies echoed throughout the presentation – talking about it, bystander intervention, and the importance of prevention, to name a few.

We at Darkness to Light applaud the NFL for confronting this issue from the standpoint that change begins from within. NFL heroes become truly heroic when they use their voices and actions to help others, and to create a better society. Thank you also to Pittsburgh Steeler William Gay for having the courage to share his story in order to help others understand the effect domestic violence can have on children and families.

One of our favorite quotes comes from NFL Director of Transition and Clinical Services Dwight Hollier, LPC, NCC: “[Child abuse] is the scar that you do not see that lasts so much longer than anything visible. The emotional scar left from child abuse, if left untreated, can become a generational scar.”

We often say, “Together, we can end child sexual abuse.” Child sexual abuse is part of a larger conversation about protecting children today in order to create healthier communities tomorrow. Every time we hear of another organization that not only acknowledges the need to protect, but advocates for it, the prospect of a future free of child sexual abuse becomes less prospect and more reality.